Traditions
Spiritually Independent

Quotes

"The golden invitation of the twenty-first century is for us to bring our great dreams forward and collectively join in our common work of fostering a great dream: What world could we create together, by dreaming together collectively, that could work for everyone? Because essentially that's what we want. That's why we've been so mysteriously placed on this great blue jewel called Earth."
— Angeles Arrien in Prayers for Hope and Comfortby Maggie Oman Shannon, editor

"The joy of Being, which is the only true happiness, cannot come to you through any form, possession, achievement, person, or event — through anything that happens. That joy cannot come to you — ever. It emanates from the formless dimension within you, from consciousness itself and thus is one with who you are."
— Eckhart Tolle in A New Earth

"My ideal for the well-lived life has so closely paralleled the classical one — the passionate struggle for excellence in the pursuits of mind, body and soul. And no wonder my admiration for this ancient Greek vision and inspiration to live an encyclopedic — literally, all-around — life has been tempered and frustrated in this day and age. For me, the joys of books, art, religion, and sports are inextricably connected."
— Phil Cousineau in The Olympic Odyssey

"What we are really talking about here is the act of getting current and staying current with ourselves. We are talking about the act of checking in, honoring ourselves, our intentions, perceptions, and intuitions. We are talking about something very simple that is often difficult to do amid hurly-burly. We are talking about paying attention to what we love."
— Julia Cameron in The Vein of Gold

"Each of us must discover the teachers that speak to us, the ones we can hear. This seems to be our job as initiates of being: to pursue our curiosity and passion and suffering in an effort to uncover our teachers. Just as different insects are drawn to certain flowers, though pollen is everywhere, different souls are drawn to certain aspects of the living Universe, though God is in everything."
— Mark Nepo in The Exquisite Risk

"If you believe that anyone's action is bad, how can you see the good in it? How can you see the good that comes out of it, maybe years later? If you see anyone as bad, how can you understand that we are all created equal? We're all teachers by the way we live. A blind drunk can teach more about why not to drink than an abstinent man in all his piety. No one has more or less goodness. No one who ever lived is a better or worse human being than you."
— Byron Katie in A Thousand Names for Joy

"When you decide to create your own religion, you will want to study the traditions of the formal religions with a fervor you've never known before. You'll discover how valuable they are and how much beauty and wisdom lie in their art and texts and stories and rituals and holy images. You'll want to learn from Buddhist sutras and the Gospel teachings and the Sufi poets and the sayings of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. You will be amazed at the beautiful precision of the Kabbalah and the acute spiritual sensitivity of the Qur'an — all because you know what it's like to search for spiritual insight and express your spiritual feelings."
— Thomas Moore inA Religion of One's Own